Makem gets year in jail for bathroom photos: Must register as sex offender; has prison sentence hanging over his head

Saturday

May 31, 2014 at 3:15 AMMay 31, 2014 at 3:39 PM

By ANDREA BULFINCHabulfinch@fosters.com

After pleading guilty to a total of 20 charges against him, former Rochester Times reporter Conor Makem signed paperwork at Strafford County Superior Court Friday afternoon registering as a sex offender before being handcuffed and transported to the Strafford County House of Corrections, where he'll spend a year incarcerated.

That 12-month sentence is concurrent for each of the 19 invasion of privacy charges, all misdemeanors for which Makem was indicted in January.

A 1½- to 5-year state prison sentence for a felony-level charge of falsifying physical evidence was suspended pending good behavior for a period of five years.

Judge Brian Tucker asked Makem, “Are you pleading guilty to these charges because you are, in fact, guilty?”

“I am, your honor,” Makem replied.

Formerly of Dover, Makem, 45, was indicted on the 19 counts for hiding a camera in the ceiling of a women's restroom at Merchants Plaza in Rochester. At the time, that building housed offices of Foster's Daily Democrat and the Rochester Times. The camera device was used to obtain pictures of at least six victims.

Makem's part-time employment was terminated by Foster's following his arrest on Oct. 17, 2013.

He said during the hearing he wanted to plead guilty in the very beginning but “that's just not how the system works.”

He waived his right to a sentence review, which means should the state prison sentence be imposed, there will be no option for review by a sentence review panel. Following his release from county jail, he faces a three-year probation period where he will be subject to random searches; have no contact with victims; will provide all user names and passwords for computer and Internet use; undergo a pyscho-sexual evaluation; have no right to vote, not serve on a jury or in public office; and he may own no firearms.

He is also ordered to participate in any counseling and treatment programs as directed by jail administration upon his release.

Before his sentencing and announcement of the plea agreement reached by Assistant County Attorney Amy Feliciano and defense attorney Timothy Harrington, two victim statements were heard.

In a letter read by Feliciano, one victim stated, “My body is my own, but it does not feel like that. What happened there hurts. It's painful, embarrassing, and it's painful to deal with that ... It robs you of self worth.”

Another victim, speaking directly before the judge, said she did not feel the 12-month sentence was a harsh enough punishment for Makem.

“Twelve months for 20 charges — that's less than a month for each,” she said. “It's going to be affecting me forever.”

She said taking a plea agreement was Makem's way of getting out of the humiliation that she and other victims have from his actions.

“For the rest of my life, I will have to live thinking that someone is going to be over my shoulder,” she said.

“Paranoia increases as your sense of security decreases,” Feliciano read from the victim's letter. “Any bathroom could have a man with a camera in it.

“You know someone was watching you, your body, doing things in private for sexual gratification,” she continued. “I'm ashamed of something I have no control over. I'm ashamed of how my body was used.”

Makem also prepared a statement apologizing to his victims and their families saying he is ashamed of his actions.

“I have never been an emotional man but I have cried and cried in this, not because I was caught but because of those I hurt,” he said, adding that he did “not expect any level of sympathy.”

During the investigation, police were able to identify victims by showing the photos to women throughout the building and who had a connection to Merchants Plaza between July 1, 2012 through October 2013.

Reading the same letter, Feliciano shared, “the officers reaction was sadness. He felt sad. I felt horrified. My heart stopped. I had to detach myself from my body — I still do.”

With both family and friends in the courtroom as well as victims of his crimes, a tearful Makem exited the courtroom escorted by Strafford County Deputy Daniel Gagnon.

Also seated in the courtroom was Foster's Daily Democrat Executive Editor Rod Doherty, who said, “I am glad this episode has come to a close. It has been a disappointment for all of us regarding what Makem did without any regard for the women he involved in this assault on their privacy.

“This was a sad time now punctuated by the judge accepting Makem's guilty plea and being taken off to jail in handcuffs.”

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